Salute to Iconic Fashion Photographer Brian Duffy Rocks Rodeo
An elegant but rockin’ taste of Euro culture comes to Beverly Hills today with the opening of a special retrospective exhibit celebrating the work of iconic U.K. fashion photographer Brian Duffy.
Hosted by jewelry designer Stephen Webster at his Rodeo Drive boutique as part of Brit Week, the in-store showcase of nearly 30 prints offers a rare opportunity to see what remains of the legacy of the late artist, who infamously decided to abandon photography in 1979 when he burned many of his negatives.
An alum of London's famous St. Martin's College of Art and Design, Duffy rose to prominence in the global fashion scene in the mid-1950s after landing a gig freelancing for Harper's Bazaar. That enviable opportunity led to a long-term stint at British Vogue and then projects at virtually every notable taste-making periodical across Europe and the U.S., including Elle, Esquire and Glamour.
Bringing a refreshing documentary-style aesthetic to fashion photography, Duffy's unconventional approach and notorious temperament led the London Times to dub him part of the "Terrible Trio," a label he shared with fellow Brit photographers David Bailey and Terence Donovan, whose work collectively defined London's fashion-forward swinging Sixties.
Although he is most renowned for his enduring fashion photography, Duffy, who died last year of lung disease shortly after the BBC profiled him in the doc The Man Who Shot the '60s, has also created timeless celebrity portraits of everyone from John Lennon to Arnold Schwarzenegger. The iconic and often imitated cover art for David Bowie's classic 1973 album Aladdin Sane is among Duffy's most famous works.
The May 2 exhibit opening in Beverly Hills is a private affair, but the showcase will remain on display at Webster’s shop through the end of May. Limited prints are also be up for sale for the first time in America.
